Why Businesses Should Use Google+

While Facebook has become a convenient media to gain exposure of one’s business, it may not be the best choice to leverage online presence. On the other hand, Google+ may be relatively newcomer in the social media game, yet it seems, in my observation will benefit businesses more in the long run.

Although Google+ should not be directly classified as a direct competitor to Facebook since they operate on a different purpose — Google+ is a platform that links other Google’s products while Facebook is a standalone social networking tool (with a few add-ons such as Bing search and maps), it’s nonetheless a valid point to compare the two popular online brands.

1. Google+ Could Have More Targeted Audience. Although Facebook’s earlier launch gave it an advantage over Google+, its number of users is nothing to sneeze at. Google claims there are 540 million active Google+ users each month. This may be less than half of Facebook’s user number (1.11 billion per month as of 31 March 2013 report), its users may be better associated with the brands we’re trying to promote.

We could be wrong if our perceived audience are those who hang out in one platform. If our audience uses Facebook, who’s to say that they don’t check their email in Google, watch videos in YouTube or search using Google Maps, applications where Google+ is closely linked to.

2. Google+ Also Leverages on SEO. One common advise given to sites that develop content is to place buttons that share such content into social media. The impact of Google+, however, extends beyond this element of exposure on social media. It also correlates with higher organic rankings. Although Facebook, Twitter and other social media presence also have positive impact on rankings, it could be a far-fetched idea that Google rankings gravitate more on other social media platforms than its very own product.

3. Exposure Extends Beyond Google+ Pages. With Google authorship, a business owner can get recognized based on the content he or she writes. A small thumbnail photo sits next to his/her name and the article written. If one searches for a product or service online, it’s likely that a map will appear on search results that include maps that link to individual Google+ pages.